Jim Chanos Calls MSTR’s Investment Pitch “Gibberish”
Short-seller Jim Chanos isn’t holding back when it comes to Michael Saylor’s investment strategy for MicroStrategy (MSTR). He recently told CNBC that Saylor’s argument—valuing the company at a multiple of its growth in net asset value (NAV)—is “complete financial gibberish.”
Chanos compared it to saying your house, which went from $450,000 to $500,000, is suddenly worth $1.5 million just because you slapped a 20x multiple on the $50,000 gain. Matt Levine, who usually has a knack for making finance quirks sound reasonable, agreed. He called the logic “crazy-making,” especially since many investors treat MSTR as a leveraged bitcoin play.
But here’s the thing: shorting MSTR has been a losing bet for years. Saylor might be stretching the math, but betting against him hasn’t worked out well for anyone. Still, Chanos has a point—paying $2 for every dollar of value isn’t exactly a sound strategy.
Tron’s Dubious “Going Public” Move
Justin Sun’s Tron is making headlines again, this time with reports that it’s “going public” in the U.S. Except—that’s not quite true. It’s not the TRX token itself being listed, but a new entity, Tron Inc., which will hold TRX tokens. Matt Levine put it best: it’s a “wrapper” designed to skirt U.S. securities laws.
The whole thing feels like a stretch. Unlike bitcoin or Solana, nobody’s pretending TRX is decentralized enough to avoid being classified as a security. Yet investors seem eager to buy in—the SPAC tied to Tron was trading at a 1,700% premium to its net asset value this week. That means people were willing to pay $18 for $1 worth of TRX.
If that doesn’t scream “bubble,” I don’t know what does. And it’s not just Tron—even obscure tokens are getting the “treasury company” treatment now.
The Risky Rise of Crypto Treasury Companies
Coinbase recently warned that the flood of MicroStrategy copycats could pose a “systemic risk” to crypto. The immediate concern? If these companies can’t roll over their debt, today’s buyers might turn into tomorrow’s panic sellers.
But the bigger issue is subtler. If even one of these firms dumps crypto holdings for routine expenses, it could trigger a chain reaction. Everyone rushes for the exits, prices crash—and suddenly, the whole market looks shaky. It’s the kind of thing that seems obvious only after it happens.
Greenwood: The Real-Life Wakanda
Juneteenth is a good time to remember Greenwood, Tulsa’s historic Black Wall Street. By the early 1900s, it was a thriving, self-sufficient community where Black-owned businesses flourished. Some say Jim Crow laws inadvertently helped—because segregation forced money to circulate within Greenwood, wealth stayed in the community.
But in 1921, a white mob burned it down. The attack was labeled a “riot,” which let insurance companies deny claims from Black residents. Only one payout went through—to a white pawn shop owner who supplied guns used against Greenwood.
The parallels to Wakanda are striking. Greenwood was a place where Black excellence thrived, even if only for a short time. And its destruction was as much about economics as it was about racism. A dollar that changed hands 19 times before leaving the community? That’s real wealth-building. Too bad it
